Yay. Considering the only good one was the first one, and the only other tolerable one was the third one (saved, barely, by Sean Connery as Henry Sr.), and the second and fourth ones stank on ice, I'm not thinking the chances of #5 being very good are...very good.

Yay. Considering the only good one was the first one, and the only other tolerable one was the third one (saved, barely, by Sean Connery as Henry Sr.), and the second and fourth ones stank on ice, I'm not thinking the chances of #5 being very good are...very good.

3 has been my favorite for a while, but it has been a loooooong time since I've seen the original. Also, hardly remember the second. I should probably rewatch the series at some point.

3 has been my favorite for a while, but it has been a loooooong time since I've seen the original. Also, hardly remember the second. I should probably rewatch the series at some point.

The third film has some good moments. Connery and Ford work well off each other. That makes it tolerable. The film's many howlers, and reduction of Marcus Brody to bumbling oaf, the opening of the film with its needless back/origin story are a pretty strong counterbalance.

You're better off barely remembering the second film. An awful film. Spielbergian excess at its worst. And Spielbergian excess has cut quite a swath through the cinema over the last forty-odd years. In a long and prolific career, I can think of only three films he's made that were worth watching a second time: Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and, to a lesser extent, Raiders of the Lost Ark. The rest are varying grades of drivel.

Man, Tesla, you were always an acquired taste back in the day on the old boards, but wow....you've evolved into full-out GET OFF MY LAWN mode these days.

The Last Crusade barely tolerable? Most of Spielberg's filmography is drivel? Good lord, man. The rate at which you trash nearly every film/show mentioned on this site, it amazes me to think that you are capable of being a fan of much at all. I mean, I know you are, but jeez...

"All right, look, there's only one "Return," okay, and it ain't "of the King," it's "of the Jedi."

Man, Tesla, you were always an acquired taste back in the day on the old boards, but wow....you've evolved into full-out GET OFF MY LAWN mode these days.

"Full-out Get Off My Lawn Mode"? No one has to get off my lawn. They know better than to get on it in the first place. I haven't changed much in my opinions, if any. I have less tolerance for nonsense, perhaps, and I am becoming more concise, which might make my opinions seem sharper, but, otherwise: same old me.

The Last Crusade barely tolerable? Most of Spielberg's filmography is drivel? Good lord, man. The rate at which you trash nearly every film/show mentioned on this site, it amazes me to think that you are capable of being a fan of much at all. I mean, I know you are, but jeez...

I don't think I ever said that The Last Crusade was barely tolerable. I believe what I said was that it was saved--note: saved--but barely, by Sean Connery. Henry Jones, Sr. was a fine character. And the third film had more of what made the first film good than the second and fourth films put together and multiplied by ten. I still like the film. It's not great, it has a number of issues--How the hell is a French knight from the middle ages able to speak British English with a BBC accent? and it does alter the original characters, making the whole thing a lot less serious--but it's watchable and rewatchable.

And yes, I consider most of Steven Spielberg's films drivel. He's a brilliant technician. His films look amazing, but the stories--they're usually empty, smarmy manipulative...drivel. Which is sad, because he did some good work very early on, as I said above, Jaws, CE3K, Raiders--and even earlier the TV projects. But beyond that...

As for "trashing" almost every film or program: I'm a demanding viewer, it's true. I hold to the adage that 90% of everything is crap. (And I suspect the percentage is nearer 95, maybe 99.) I'm also capable of enjoying some things I find fault with, faults and all. And not every program or film comes up for discussion here. Those I rather like get little if any discussion.

And how often have I been called crazy for liking some of the things I do like? I've taken a lot of heat over the years for my defense of The Search for Spock, for instance, and most people can't figure out why I find "Spock's Brain" interesting and entertaining--the two are actually a bit similar if you think about it, while being incapable of tolerating "The Trouble with Tribbles"--though the Deep Space Nine episode incorporating it, what was it called, "Trials and Tribble-ations"? is, in my opinion, good fun.

Maybe I should start posting a weekly "Five Things I Like" media post...

As for "trashing" almost every film or program: I'm a demanding viewer, it's true. I hold to the adage that 90% of everything is crap. (And I suspect the percentage is nearer 95, maybe 99.) I'm also capable of enjoying some things I find fault with, faults and all. And not every program or film comes up for discussion here. Those I rather like get little if any discussion.

I think this is it right here. Whether you like something or abhor it, you'll get into meaningful discussion of characters, scenes, plot points, etc. It can be easy to forget sometimes, in the midst of those exchanges, that you might actually hate whatever we're talking about.

For instance, we've often spoken about the sequels, and what ifs, and character dynamics and so on. I was reminded recently that you don't think much of the prequels. But, that's never stopped meaningful discussion about the movies from you.

I suppose the point is that one can dislike a lot of things, but accept that and still find meaningful talking points.